Of Haiku and Memories
by Zigbon
Summary: Whenever she longed for Eden-5, or her father, she turned to Zer0. He was a good replacement.
1. Gaige's Reckoning

Zer0 and Gaige were a weird case; Of best friends and other things that gapped between age differences. Gaige saw him as his replacement father, and a badass one at that. Zer0 saw her as a young girl dealt an extremely hard hand, and he decided to not hide behind haiku and lies. He was straightforward with the young female, but he used haiku to tease the Mechromancer occasionally, which ended up with Zer0 blocking from weak swats as the offender either giggled or growled with irritability. As another day passed, less and less became of remainders of the Hyperion corporation and the Vaults in other worlds for Gaige, and more of Zer0.

The mysterious assassin/ninja who spoke in a rough voice with such poetic, yet deadly words that it was hard to concentrate on the fight when he recited them. Even if it was one he recited enough times that she memorized them, and was able to remember the accent on the last few words. This was such day, as Zer0 was literally backhanding a Psycho that got a bit too close to Gaige as DT was cooling down. "No touchy." He said, not even bothering to add some witty words or even make it a haiku. And such blatant care for the younger female did not go unnoticed. Zer0 unsheathed the katana at his hip, since what ninja did not have a katana? Gaige couldn't think of one, too busy reminiscing of ninjas whilst Zer0 slipped his blade from the chest cavity of the too-close-for-comfort Psycho.

Zer0 didn't have the time to chastise Gaige before he silently stalked his next target. Like a little cat that spun haikus and never took that damned bodysuit off. Gaige didn't know what Zer0 was; Race or if he was a human. He was definitely male, she could tell by several signs, and the fact that he made it so blatantly obvious with his body language. It would be kinda stereotypical, and racist, to immediately think he was of Oriental descent before he came to Pandora. She hadn't exactly collected ECHO logs of his, so he could only grip thoughts of what he was, before blowing them away with a small frustrated sigh. The red-head finally sat up, dusting her miniskirt before heading off to aid her friend Zer0.

As she offed a couple more Psychos, she turned to Deathtrap. The robot finished choking a bandit, tossing aside like a old toy and went to it's master. Thats right, Deathtrap would always be at her side. She heard it's gears grind, making a noise seem like burring as the robot closed onto it's masters' position. She smiled at him, her head going to the side slightly. DT tried the same, only to fail and start rotating like a gyro. She suppressed a giggle, and she heard a chuckle behind her. An unfamiliar one. She jumped, turning around and accidentally smashing Zer0 in the side of his helmet. The :C emote quickly pulsated, and Gaige started scrambling and repeating 'sorry' several times.

Hurting him was something she regretted, even though Zer0 accepted her apology by haiku, which would have normally cheered her up. She still worried, however. Men like him didn't exactly grow on trees on planets like Eden-5. Which only brought more troubling memories. She cast them aside, maybe confessing to Zer0 about how she saw him later in the day. Right now, the bandits were being troublesome.

Whenever she longed for Eden-5, or her father, she turned to Zer0. He was a good replacement, and something more. A friend.


	2. Gaige's Goodbye

After finally being able to return to Eden-5, Gaige was sad. She had a good few years of experience that she wouldn't trade for anything while on Pandora. Axton and Maya finally catching onto each others' hints and teases. Salvador being Salvador. Watching Tina turn into a young woman, rather than a child. Holding Roland and Angel's funeral at last, because Hyperion no longer mattered. Watching Mordecai, Brick and Lilith come back from their first Vault Hunt outside of Pandora alive. Playing Bunkers and Badasses with Tina, which in itself was something Gaige enjoyed beyond belief.

She was sad to depart such a place, even if Eden-5 was Paradise. What saddened her most, was leaving Zer0. The relations between two flourished in those four years she had been a Vault Hunter on Pandora. Deathtrap and Claptrap were accompanying each other, the two robots finding some kind of brotherly bond (Although Deathtrap was this gigantic machine of death). Gaige stood next to her departure site, glancing at everyone behind her. She saw six others.

Krieg had been killed, saving everyone else. It was Hyperion's last ditch effort to cleanse Pandora, in hope that Handsome Jack would be avenged. Krieg, being over-protective of Maya, was thoroughly pissed, even more than usual. He stormed each and every Loader sent his way, not even caring about blood loss, only of blood lust. In the end, he twirled his buzz saw, laughing hysterically. That is, before another dropship landed nearby. Krieg had enough of the damn Loaders, and stormed onto the ship.

Soon after, the ship exploded, Krieg still inside. Hyperion had been drained, and decided it would be best that Pandora was left the shit-hole it was, and promptly disappeared from Pandora forever. They held Krieg's funeral the day of, and Gaige couldn't bite back her tears then. They had lost two good people to Hyperion, and a Siren enslaved by her father. As Gaige beckoned Deathtrap to the ship, she waved her final goodbyes. Zer0 just turned and left, it seemed. She frowned, holding back her tears; She couldn't be weak anymore.

Maya hugged her, holding her shoulders. "Watching you mature was something I'll never forget." She said, a sad smile splayed on her face. Gaige shook her head, "I'll visit you when I can!" Maya backed away, and Axton took her place. "It's been fun kiddo. I won't miss your crazy antics you did with Tina." Axton smirked, while Gaige chuckled under her breath.

Salvador, unable to look at her straight on, looked up at her. Gaige grinned, "Hey, shorty." Salvador hissed, "Don't call me that, _niña_. I'll blow up the damned ship and you'll stay here, _loco_." Salvador grunted, wobbling away. Sir Hammerlock saluted her with his metallic arm. "It's been a pleasure associating with a badass like yourself." He said curtly, and Gaige nodded. "Thanks." Deathtrap floated next to her, before surging forward onto the ship. Claptrap rambled on about something and minions that she didn't _quite_ care about.

She boarded the ship, waving her final goodbyes as the door to the ship closed. She sat down, sighing. She couldn't say goodbye to Zer0, and that had her clutch her head in depression, letting tears fall. "God damn it, Zer0…"

"What?" Gaige glanced upwards at the familiar voice, and shrieked in surprise. There, stood her favorite assassin that spat haikus like no one else, Zer0. Zer0's Decepti0n ability faded away on Pandora, leaving Maya and Axton to jump in shock, while Salvador only laughed. "_Loco_ actually did it!" Gaige tackled Zer0 into a hug, and Zer0's helmet glowed with a red, pulsating heart. It seemed leaving Pandora came with a goodbye present. One that wouldn't leave her side for a very long time.

She heard a weird noise, and some kind of pressured air seeped from Zer0's mask. The helmet's frontal plate slid back, and a _human, genuine_ smile awaited her.

"I love you."


End file.
